Chinenye Anuforo
Cisco has released a new annual internet report that assesses digital transformation and provides information on the growth of internet users, devices,connections and new application requirements. The Cisco Annual Internet Report covers mobile, Wi-Fi and fixed broadband and relevant trends over a five-year forecast period of 2018 through 2023.
The report reveals that 5G will support more than 10 per cent of the world’s mobile connections by 2023. The average 5G speed will be 575 megabits per second, or 13 times faster than the average mobile connection. With advanced performance capabilities, 5G will deliver more dynamic mobile infrastructures for AI and emerging IoT applications including autonomous cars, smart cities, connected health, immersive video and more. Also, Global Wi-Fi6 hotspots will grow 13-fold from 2020 to 2023 and will be 11 per cent of all public Wi-Fi hotspots.
The internet report further reveals that by 2023 there would be an increase in global mobile and internet users projection. More than 70 percent of the global population (5.7 billion people) will have mobile connectivity (2G, 3G, 4G or 5G). There would be an increase in global devices and connections projections, there will be 3.6 networked devices/connections per person and nearly 10 devices and connections per household. Also, global Wi-Fi hotspots will grow four-fold from 2018 to 2023 and there will be nearly 628 million global public Wi-Fi hotspots, up from 169 million in 2018. Global network performance projections will triple triple from 13 Mbps (2018) to 44 Mbps (2023).
Commenting on the release of the annual internet report, Senior Vice President and Chief Techonology Officer at Cisco, Roland Acra said “What we are seeing from our research is a continuous rise in internet users, devices, connections, and more demand on the network than we could have imagined, The insights and knowledge gained by our Annual Internet Report are helping gobal businesses, governments and service providers prepare and secure networks for the ongoing growth in connections and applications. Strategic planning and partnerships will be essential for all organizations to capitalize on their technology innovations and investments.”
For the past 50 years, each decade introduced a new mobile technology with cutting-edge innovations. Mobile bandwidth requirements have evolved from voice calls and texting to ultra-high-definition (UHD) video and a variety of augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) applications. Consumers and business users worldwide continue to create new demands and expectations for mobile networking. This ongoing trend is clearly highlighted by the adoption and use of mobile applicatons. Social networking, video streaming and downloads, business productivity, e-commerce and gaming will drive the continued growth of mobile applications with nearly 300 billion downloaded by 2023.
Over the years, Cisco continues to help society securely connect and seize tomorrow’s digital opportunity today by providing credible industry metrics for internet growth to businesses national governments, network regulators, academic researchers, telecommunications companies, technology experts and industry/business press and analysts around the globe.